Auto-hood clamp



1.1. MARTIN.

' AUTO HOOD CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILEIJ FEB. I8. |920.

Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

@Rowwen T. 1. MARTIN'.

AUTO HOOD CLAMP.

APPLlcAxoN man FEB. 1a, 1920.

Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

v i Mw @Het ne UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TRUMAN J'. MARTIN, OF ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

AUTO-HOOD CLAMP.

Patented N ov. 9, 1920.

Application led February 18; 1920. Serial No. 359,733.

of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and` useiul .flute-Hood ClampgfandI do hereby declare the following. to be a full, clear, and exactdescription or the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use Vthe same.

The invention relates to clamps adapted to be secured to the side railsot an automobile frame and so disposed as to receive the lower marginaledge ot the pivoted hood and support and hold said hood in suoli ainanner that it will be prevented from rattling during the vibration ofthe automobile.

A further object is to provide the clamp with spring actuated ballsadapted to engage the inner and outer faces of the lower marginal edgeof the pivoted member of the hood and hold said hood against displacement and rattling, thereby, reducing the engaging surface to a minimumand insuring a uniform clamping at the .edge of the hood at all times. o

A further object is to` provide a hood clamp comprising a base havingupstandiiig spaced arms between which arms the lower marginal edge ofthe hood is received. Also to provide said yarm with spring` actuatedconvexed members adapted to engage the inner and outer faces of themarginal edge of the hood and hold said hood against displacement.

A further object is to provide a spring actuated hall carried by thebase and disposed between the upwardly extending arms and adapted toengagethe lower edge of the pivoted hood for resiliently supporting saidhood and preventing rattling of the saine during the vibration of theautomobile.

Vith the above and other objects in view the invention resides in thecombination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter set Vforth, shown inthe drawings, described and claimed, it being understood that changes inthe precise embodiment of the invention may be made within the scope ofwhat is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings Figure l is a side elevation eta portion of p 7 of theautomobile frame.

' an automobile showing the clamp applied thereto. Fig. 2 is` asectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. y

Fig'. 3 is a'sectional view taken on line 8-3 of Fig. 2. v

Fig. 4 isl a view in elevation of a portion of an automobile and itshood showing a modified :form of clamp. Fig. is a sectional view takenon line 54-5 of Fig. 4, yone ot' the lugs being broken away t0 show thespring actuated member. .F ig. 6 isV anenlarged detail viewV of the formshown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is atop plan view of the form' shown in Fig. 4. y

. Referring to the drawings, the numeral '1 designates a conventionalform of automobile and 2 the engine hood thereof. The engine hoodcomprises pivoted sections 3 and 4, said sections being the same on bothsides of the hood, however,'for purposes of illustration only one sideof 4the hood is shown. In hoods as now clamped and held the contactingsurfaces are great in area and the 'clamping is not a positive clamping,there- "foreasthe automobile vibrates incident to the travel of the sameover rough ground or the runningof the engine, the hoody rattles to anobjectionable extent. To overcome this rattling clamping members 5 aresecured by means oi screws 6 to the side rails Any number of clampingmembers 6 may be utilized for holding the section 4 of the hood, howevertwo have been found to be sufficient. Each clamping member 5 comprises abase 8, which base is provided with an upstanding arm 9 in chamber 10 ofwhich is a spring actuated ball 11, said ball being adjustably tensionedby means of a screw 12. Ball 11 extends inwardly beyond the inner faceof the arm 9 and is adapted to engage the inner face 13 of a U-shapedplate 14' secured as at 15 to the lower marginal edge of the section 4of the hood. Secured tothe outer face of the base 6 by means of screws16 is an upwardlly, inwardly and forced downwardly between the ball andthe lug 18 will be frictionally held between said ball and lug so thatthe hood will be prevented from rattling. The base 8 is provided with alongitudinal channel 20 and projecting into said channel isy a springactuated ball 21, which ball is centrally disposed between the arms 9and 17 and projects into the channel so that when the U- shaped member14 is forced downwardly between the arms 9 and 17 it will engage andrest upon the spring actuated ball 21, thereby reducing the contactingsurface toa minimum and at the saine time resiliently supporting thehood during excessive shocks.

Referring to Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive, it will be seen that in this formthe base 22 is provided with upstanding spaced rigid arms 23, which armsare near their upper ends provided with chambers 24 having springactuated balls 25 which extend inwardly toward each other and areadapted to engage the U-shaped member 26 carried by the engine hoodsection at. after thev spear shaped head 27 has been forced downwardlybetween the arm 23. Spring actuated balls 25 are forced inwardly by thespear shaped portion 27 until they engage the surfaces 28 of theU-shaped member 26 at a point above theshoulders 29 of the U-shapedmem.- ber 26. The lower end of the U-shaped member 26 is held in closeengagement with the base 22 between the arm 23 as at 30 by the action ofthe spring actuated ball 25, thereby preventing the rattling of the hoodand insuring a close clamping of the section 4 against rattling. It willbe seen that in both forms that the marginal edge of the section 4 maybe forced between the engaging members of the clamps in both forms bygrasping the handle of the section 4 and forcing the lower marginal edgethereof downwardly between the engaging members.

preventing the rattling of the hood. It bej ing understood that any formof anti-frictional or cushioning means may be used on the radiator orflange and on the flange of the body of the automobile.

The invention having been set forth what is claimed as new and useful isAn antirattling clamp for automobile hoods, said clamp comprising a basemember adapted to be secured to the frame of al1 automobile,anupstanding arm carried by said base member, a spring actuated ballprojecting from said upstanding arm, a spring arm extending upwardlyfrom said base member at the opposite side to the first mentioned arm,said spring arm being provided with a struck in lug in axial alinementwith the spring actuated ball, said spring arm above the struck in lugbeing curved outwardly forming a guiding means for guiding the edge ofthe hood between the arms, and a spring actuated ball carried by thebase and projecting upwardly from the same at a point between the springactuated ball arm and the spring arm, said resilient holding of the hoodedge preventing rat.- tling of said hood.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

TRUMAN J. MARTIN.

lVitnesses:

E. S. HABE, GLENN M. CoNGDoN.

